Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Cuts Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 2.1%, holding approximately 1.13 million shares worth about $60.4 million.
• Jefferies Financial Group reported an EPS of $0.40 for the last quarter, which was below the analyst consensus estimate of $0.44.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, reflecting a 2.7% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 60.38%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,127,474 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,697 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.55% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $60,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 637 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 105.5% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the period. Finally, Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter worth about $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock traded down $1.38 on Friday, reaching $60.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,297,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,395,531. The business's 50-day moving average price is $56.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.28 and a fifty-two week high of $82.68. The stock has a market cap of $12.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76 and a beta of 1.48.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 7.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Jefferies Financial Group's payout ratio is currently 60.38%.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services.